Pearl River Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for the Illegal Distribution of Oxymorphone Causing the Overdose Death of Two Young Men

APR 23 (MANHATTAN) – Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James J. Hunt, the Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), announced that Craig Oleksowicz was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan federal court to 120 months’ imprisonment. Oleksowicz’s criminal conduct, for which he was sentenced, included illegally distributing oxymorphone, a Schedule II controlled substance, the use of which caused the July 2011 and October 2011 deaths of another individual, two young men in Pearl River, New York.

U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “The illegal distribution of highly-addictive and dangerous prescription pills is the fastest-growing drug problem in the country. Painkillers that Craig Oleksowicz illegally dealt led to the overdose death of two young men. Today’s sentence of ten years in prison for Oleksowicz’s crimes shows how seriously this Office takes this public health epidemic.”

According to the Information, to which Oleksowicz pled guilty, statements made during the plea and sentencing proceedings or associated court filings:

Oleksowicz, 38, of Pearl River, New York, used worker’s compensation benefits to pay for prescriptions of oxymorphone, codeine, methadone, and other medications. Between at least February 2011 and October 2011, Oleksowicz and others regularly distributed Oleksowicz’s prescription oxymorphone pills for profit. Oyxmorphone is a powerful painkiller with a high potential for addiction and abuse, and its improper use may lead to fatality. Indeed, in July 2011 and in October 2011, the use of oxymorphone pills supplied by Oleksowicz caused the overdose death of two young men, aged 20 and 21, respectively, both residents of Pearl River. In the months following those deaths, Oleksowicz continued his illegal distribution of pills, selling codeine, methadone, and Valium pills for profit on at least four separate occasions in February 2012.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative efforts of the DEA, the New York City Police Department, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Rockland County Drug Task Force, and the Orangetown Police Department.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. DiMase and Abigail Kurland are in charge of the prosecution.